Sorry it took a few days to post another chapter! I've been busy and sadly I start work this week. I'll try to keep updating though :)
The Charming family sat around the fire eating food and finally having a normal family dinner. This was the first family dinner they had had while being in the Enchanted Forest. Snow and Charming were on one side of the fire, while Henry and Emma were on the other side.
Emma had no idea what she was eating nor did she think she wanted to know. She could hear Henry eating beside her, "Chew with your mouth closed, kid." Henry just beamed up at her and chewed his food properly.
After swallowing what he had, Henry had an idea. "Why don't we ask each other some of our favorite things?" Snow and Charming didn't seem to mind and they smiled as if to agree with Henry.
"Are we going to sing about it like in the Sound of Music?" Emma grinned feeling pretty clever about her reply.
Henry shook his head, "We can all take turns. I'll start. What's your favorite color?"
Snow thought about it, "Red."
Charming smiled, "I would have to say my favorite color is blue."
Everybody then looked over at Emma for her response. Emma wanted to say red or blue, but now she felt awkward about answering with that. Snow sensing Emma was conflicted with something decided to move forward with Henry's game.
"What's your favorite memory?" Snow smiled knowing that hers would have to be either the day she found out she was pregnant with Emma or the day she gave birth to her.
Charming smiled knowing what his wife was thinking and answered for the both of them, "Easy. The day Emma was born." Snow and Charming exchanged a warm look then looked over at Emma who was turning red in the cheeks. Henry started giggling at Emma's expression.
Emma hated, yet loved moments like these. She liked being reminded that her parents did in fact love her, but hated the fact that her face turned bright red. She looked up sheepishly, "You just had to bring that up, didn't you?" Snow and Charming laughed. Emma tried hiding the smile that was growing on her face.
Henry faced his mother, "Mom, it's your turn." Emma quickly composed herself and tried to filter out all the bad memories to find at least one good memory.
"Let me think." Emma continued to filter through her thoughts, which only made Snow and Charming more nervous. Snow was hoping this would come easier to Emma, but it saddened her that it didn't. "The day Henry found me." Emma smiled at her son, who in response hugged her.
Snow smiled at her little girl wishing she had the same relationship that Emma had with Henry. "What about you, Henry?"
After squeezing Henry, Emma finally let him go. "The day that everybody remembered who they were and I found out I was apart of this family."
Snow leaned against Charming and smiled at the thought of their family reunion. Charming grabbed her hand and with his thumb rubbed circles around it. Everybody sat like that for some time just enjoying the moment of being with each other. They hadn't had a moment like this in awhile.
After what felt like hours, the happy family went to bed in the tent that was their temporary home. It wasn't the most comfortable thing, but it worked while their real home was getting transformed in front of their eyes.
Snow didn't know why she woke up, but she did. She looked around and realized Emma was gone. How did I not hear her get up? Snow thought. She walked out of the tent and saw Emma sitting with her back up against a tree. She didn't appear to be hurt and that should have been enough to ease Snow's concern, but it wasn't.
She walked close to where Emma was, "Hey." She spoke quietly enough so that she wouldn't wake the boys.
Emma looked up tiredly and gave a small smile, "I hope I didn't wake you." Snow wanted to say that she noticed Emma wasn't there and that is why she is up, but instead played it cool.
"I just couldn't sleep." Snow smiled and took a seat beside her daughter. Emma nodded in understanding and then looked out into the never-ending forest in front of her. Snow leaned over and hit Emma softly with her shoulder, "Why are you out here, Emma?"
Emma shrugged, not really sure herself. She couldn't pin point the exact reason as to why she couldn't sleep and why she was out here alone. Snow watched her daughter's face contemplate the question with amusement. Before Snow could speak up again, Emma finally spoke. "Was giving birth to me seriously the best memory you had?" She paused. "What about when you met David? I'm sure the whole true love thing was exciting."
Snow smiled at Emma's thought process, "While meeting your father ranks pretty high, the day you were born was something I find pretty great too." Emma looked over at Snow, and then brought her legs up to her chin. Snow put her arm around Emma giving her a squeeze. "Charming and I had always wanted a child and when you were born and we saw your baby blue eyes…we knew you were going to be special."
Emma tried to keep her emotions in check as Snow continued talking. Ever since she met Snow and David and found out they were her parents, she always wondered what her life could have been. Maybe even should have been, but one thing always brought her back to be thankful that it didn't: Henry.